Richard Hatch pleads to have prison sentence shortened

Incarcerated reality TV star Richard Hatch has asked a judge to amend his nine-month jail sentence, insisting the punishment is too harsh for his crime.

The troubled star was convicted in 2006 for failing to pay taxes on the $1 million cash prize he won after appearing on the first season of America’s Survivor.

Hatch walked free from prison in October 2009 after completing a three-year federal sentence for the crime, but was ordered back behind bars earlier this year for failing to file his 2000 and 2001 tax returns.

He is due to be released in December – but Hatch wants federal appeals court officials to cut short his jail time and throw out the case, claiming nine months is “unreasonable” and far exceeds the prosecutor’s three-month recommendation, reports the Associated Press.